"As soon as we heard about the news about Aaliyah, we just all rallied together," said Stephanie Thorp, director of Girls Inc.

Aaliyah has been a member of Girls Inc. for nine years. Friday's fundraiser is a lemonade sale, with all proceeds going to her family to help pay for medical expenses.

"It's not even been two weeks yet (since the diagnosis)," said her mother, Sonya Davis. "It's still fresh."

Davis said her daughter noticed a lump on her leg that turned out to be a cancerous tumor.

"I think it's hard because you don't know if you are going to live or die when you have cancer," Aaliyah said.

Aaliyah is receiving treatment at Children's Hospital in Boston. She will go through seven months of chemotherapy, followed by two surgeries. One surgery will remove the tumor from her leg and the second will remove more tumors that were found in her lungs.

"The survival rate with just the tumor is 80 percent, but it gets cut down to 30 percent with it in her lung area," her mother said.

With a long road ahead, the family said they're staying strong and focusing on the positive even when things get tough.

"They said three out of 10 children make it, and I believe she is going to be one," her mother said.

The community of Nashua is thinking the same way, even those who don't know Aaliyah or her family.

"I can't imagine," resident Heather Blondin said. "I have three girls of my own, and I can't imagine what the mom is going through, yet alone what the little girl is going through, so I just wanted to do my part."

That support is what Aaliyah believes will help her reach her goals throughout her journey to getting well.

"To stay strong and not let it bring me down," she said.

The lemonade fundraiser at Girls Inc. in Nashua will be open until 3 p.m. Friday. A GoFundMe page has also been set up for Aaliyah, with the goal of raising $10,000.